Edgewood boy, 11, pulled from pool on Memorial Day dies

Zephaniah Muchele, who was pulled from the bottom of a Joppa pool on Memorial Day, died Friday morning at John's Hopkins Children's Center. (Courtesy Edith Muchele)

The 11-year-old Edgewood boy who was pulled from the bottom of a Joppa swimming pool Monday died Friday morning at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, his family confirmed.

Zephaniah Muchele, who lived with his parents, Edith and Fredrick, and his 18-month-old brother in Edgewood, was found at the bottom of a private pool on Neptune Drive in Joppa where he was visiting with his family on Memorial Day.

When Zephaniah was pulled out of the pool, he didn’t have a pulse. First aid was administered immediately and by the time he arrived at Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in Bel Air, his pulse had returned. He was flown to Hopkins, where he died Friday morning, said Agnes Donaldson, Edith’s cousin.

“We just want people to continue to pray for his parents, for their strength as they go through this next phase of burying their son,” Donaldson said. “It’s hard and it’s a lot. They’re not losing faith. They still trust in God but it hurts.”

Edith and Fredrick are both pastors, she said.

“They are strong, very strong,” Donaldson said.

She said Zephaniah, a fifth grader at Magnolia Elementary School, was a “sweetheart.”

“We all know him for his smile,” she said. “He’s caring, passionate and an amazing big brother.”